Headlights
by Ashiya Mizuki
Summary: [Hana-Kimi ficcie] Mizuki would do anything to keep Sano jumping. One night the two take the dog for a walk when a sudden pair of headlights come out of nowhere...


Headlights

A/N: I don't own Hana-Kimi or any of the characters, they belong to their respected owner. :)

9.... 8... _Come on, come one!!!_ 7.... 6.... _Oh no! I'm stuck!!!_ 5... 4... 3... 2... _Kiiyyyaaaaaa!!!!!_ 1....

"Ready?" asked a voice coming from the entry way of the bathroom. Mizuki looked up at Sano and smiled.

"Yup!" her voice ran. They began to walk out of the room when a hand grabbed her head.

"Hold on, your hair is a mess!" Sano said, and he ruffled it, trying to fix it. "Really, you need to pay attention when you dress..." Mizuki laughed, a small little blush coming to her face.

"Guess you're right...."

"Don't guess, I am right," he said, smiling down at her. She laughed and they exited their room and headed towards their first class.

During class, Mizuki liked to day dream, even if she shouldn't. Her mind always wondered, and usually it was about the same person... Sano. Just thinking about him brought a small smile to her face. She ventured to Japan to see Sano jump and be near him. She even pretends to be a man just to go to the same school as him... She had been faced with several difficulties trying to cover up her idenity. Only one person knows that she is a female and that was the nurse, Umeda. She looked out of the corner of her eye and spotted Sano, jotting down noted boredly. Sano... When had her feelings come out so strong to be with? Sure, she came all the way to see him, but she didn't figure she would fall in love with him...

"Mizuki!" Her head jerked up and the teacher looked at her. "Please answer the question..."

"Um.. ah... Poetry?" she asked shyly.

"So you are paying attention..." Mizuki loosened up and let out a small sigh. She hated to be put on the spot... especially when she wasn't paying attention.

"Thats better than yesterday Sano," said Mizuki, writing down his jump on a sheet. She smiled as she looked over the record and he had been increasing his jump about once a week. She looked at him and smiled. She loved watching his jump, his form was so graceful and he looked like it was nothing. Sano crawled to the edge of the mat and sat there cross legged.

"Really? I don't feel like I went any higher..." he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Yeah, look," Mizuki said, crawling over to the edge of the mat and showing him the sheet. She felt his head get close to hers as she showed him the results. His breath tickled her ear and her heart began to beat faster... _Calm down.... calm down... He's just close... not like he's never been this close before..._

"Yeah I did go higher... I need to work harder though... I'm almost to where I used to be..." he said. The hair on the back of Mizuki's neck stood on end as he talked basically in her ear. She bit her lip, her face starting to turn red. "Anyway," he said, sitting back up from his leaning position, "Did you feel like taking Yuujirou out for a walk tonight? We could take him to the park..." suggested Sano. Mizuki perked up and smiled. She turned to him.

"Sure! I love going to the park. I think Yuujirou would like it too." Mizuki smiled brightly as she got up. She held out her hand for Sano, who greatfully took it. They walked back toward the dorm rooms so they could change and head out.

"Make sure you grab a jacket Mizuki!" called Sano, tugging on his own jacket. "It will probably be a bit cool with the wind." Mizuki walked toward the door, fiddling with her jacket. "What's wrong now?" Sano asked.

"The zipper won't work! It won't come up." she said, tugging on the zipper. Sano sighed and swatted her hands away. He unhooked the zipper and put it back together and pulled up on the zipper. He began to zip the jacket all the way up until he got toward her chest. His face went a little red as he stopped at the middle of her chest. His mind began to think... if she wasn't hiding as a boy... _Damnit, would you stop thinking about that? She's your room mate... nothing more! Just a roommate... thats female... and someone who you don't want to let go..._ He let go of the zipper.

"That should be fine.." he said. Mizuki blinked, noticing his face was a little red. "Lets go."

"Ready to go Yuujirou?" called Mizuki as Yuujirou jumped up onto her lap and began to lick her face. She giggled and rubbed the top of his head.

"Bark bark!!!" _Where we going? Where we going?? _Mizuki giggled.

"Ready for the park? Huh boy?" Yuujirou began to bark loudly, getting out of Mizuki's lap and jumping up onto Sano. Sano laughed and petted him on the head. He attached the leash to his collar. Mizuki got up off the ground and walked over to Sano.

"Lets gooo!"

They walked peacefully down the sidewalk toward the park. The lamp lights began to come on as a gentle wind blew. Mizuki was happy that Sano had told her to take a jacket for her cheeks were beginning to get a little cool. She rubbed them gently to warm them up.

"Do you think you'll beat Kagaruzaka this year?" she asked out of the blue. Sano looked over at her.

"I will try my best... I will beat him because I do not like to lose." Whenever they started to talk about highjumping, Sano's face turned from his carefree face to a stern look. Mizuki nodded. She understood how much high jumping meant to Sano. He was in an accident before she had come to the school which left him not to jump. Once she got there, she made him able to jump again and made him train. He always thanked her for helping him, always being there for him. Mizuki would just smile at him. She promised herself that she would see Sano always jump and would try her best to help him improve.

They came upon a streetcrossing. They had to cross the street to get to the park. They looked both ways and began to walk but Mizuki stopped.

"There's something in my shoe and it hurts. You go ahead and cross and I'll be right there." she said, kneeling down and taking off her shoe. Sano shrugged and began to walk across the street, Yuujirou happily padding along. Mizuki turned her shoe upside down and a rock fell out of it. She looked up and noticed something. Her eyes went wide and she stood up quickly. Her heart began to pound...

"Sano!!! Watch out!!!" she shouted. Sano stopped and looked up to see headlights coming towards him. His body froze and he felt the leash be yanked from his hands as Yuujirou tugged furiously.

His body hit the pavement hard, his arm sheilding his head from any damage. His eyes were closed and all he could see was dark. A soft thud was heard. His heart was pounding furiously. How could he not move... He was so close to being able to beat Kagaruzaka and now he had to go back to the side lines? He felt like punching something until he felt the wet kisses of Yuujirou on his face. He opened his eyes to see the loving eyes of a frightened animal looking at him. He could hear Yuujirou's whimpers. Sano closed his eyes and tried to lift his body up. Surprising, he was able to lift his body up quite easily. He checked himself for any scratches or blood and he found nothing. Then how... He watched Yuujirou run away from him and to another object on the ground a little ways from him.

"Yuujirou... come back here.." he said, getting up from the pavement. He couldn't see clearly as to what Yuujirou was at due to the dim lights. He walked over and knelt next to Yuujirou. "What are you..." but he couldn't finish his sentence. In front of him was a body. He was scared to check who it was and moved the hair from the eyes of person. He felt his heart began to beat faster.

"Mizuki!" he cried, turning her onto her back. It was Mizuki... But how.. His eyes went wide. Now he knew why he didn't get hurt or anything from the car, he wasn't hit by the care... Mizuki was... The side of her face was all bloody, a painful look upon her face. Sano had to bite the inside of his cheek to try not to let anything out. _You idiot... why did you do that? Didn't you think I'd take you to the doctor? Didn't you care that you would be found out? Damnit you idiot!! Why... damnit why..._ Tears threatened his eyes but he shook it off. He knew that the hospital was close to the park. He slipped his arms under her and picked her up.

"Come on Yuujirou." he said as he began to make his way to the hospital as fast as he could. He had to get her there as soon as possible... he couldn't lose her... He refused to lose her. If he lost her... who knows what he'd do because deep down inside he'd feel.. that it was his fault.

"I need help now! My friend is extremely injured!" he shouted as he ran into the hospital. The secretary at the desk picked up the phone and called for assistant to the front desk. Several staff memebers rushed into the room, someone pushing a stretcher.

"What happened?" questioned one as they put Mizuki on the stretcher.

"It was a hit a run... I was crossing the street and he called out to me and pushed me out of the way..." Sano said, his eyes downcasted.

"Do you know the man?" asked the secretary.

"Yes... he's my roommate, Ashiya Mizuki." he replied. "Can... can I stay with him?" he asked. The secretary smiled a little but patted him on the shoulder.

"I think the best thing you can do is go home and come back tomorrow. Besides, we don't allow dogs in the hospital. You can come back tomorrow though, he should be fine."

"But... but what if he.. he doesn't..." began Sano, trying not to think of what might happened if she wasn't there in the morning.

"We'll call you... just give us your number." Sano wrote it down on a piece of paper and handed it to the secretary.

"Thank you..." he said. "Come on Yuujirou." Yuujirou looked up at Sano. _Where is Mizuki? Why isn't she here??_ Sano grabbed Yuujirou's leash and began to head back to the dorms. He would have to tell everyone the next day but he didn't want to tell them just yet.

Sano laid in bed that night, looking up at the bottom of the top bunk. He couldn't get to sleep and he knew it was well passed midnight. He had to tell the gang during dinner, they wouldn't take that she wasn't feeling good for she had been happy all day long. They were all surprised and Nakatsu was especially mad. He got on Sano for not protecting her. Sano didn't say anything for the rest of dinner, in fact he left all together. He knew that Nakatsu was right... _Damnit! Everytime I say that I'm going to protect her, be by her side... she she needs me most I'm not there..._ He thought. He punched the mattress angrily. Everytime that Mizuki gets hurt, he's never there to stop it before it happens. First Makita about to rape her to her getting herself kidnapped to now... He rubbed his face. He had to keep that girl beside him... But he knew she wouldn't be lasting much longer... The doctors would find out that she is a girl and wouldn't allow her to go back to school... The one thing he needed to keep by his side he was going to lose... She'd probably be heading back to America the next week. _Sano you idiot... why did you have to fall in love with her? You knew that she wouldn't be here forever... Yes... I knew she wouldn't be here forever.. but... I thought I could keep her with me as long as I could... I need her.. I... love her..._ It took a while before Sano could fall into a deep sleep, but it wasn't a peaceful one.

"Damnit... can't we see her yet?" asked Nakatsu, pacing around the waiting room.

"Settle down will you? We have to wait for the doctor or nurse to say its okay." said Noe, sitting in one of the chairs. Nakatsu sat next to Sano and glared at him.

"You're the reason why she's here!" he exclaimed. Sano looked away.

"Shut up Nakatsu." said Sekime, reading a magazine. A slim nurse walked up to them.

"You may go in." she said. They all got up and followed the nurse. She opened the door and they entered. A doctor was checking the pulse of Mizuki who was laying in the bed, sleeping peaceful. He looked up and smiled.

"I'm guessing you guys are the friends of this little lady?" he asked, smiling.

"Excuse me, what did you say?" asked Noe.

"This little lady? Anyway, please don't wake her, she's sleeping peacefully. Her side is bruised badly, and her wrist is fractured. I'll be leaving now," he said, and exited the room.

"Did he say that Mizuki was a little lady?" asked Sekime. Nakatsu walked over to Mizuki and looked at her.

"He isn't a girl! You have to have boobs to be a girl and clearly, he has none!" he said, taking his hand and patting Mizuki's chest. Sano's eyes went wide, and Nakatsu's face went beat red. He looked at his hand and brought it up.

"He... he... is... a... sheeeeeee....." he said, his face as bright as a red stop light. Sano looked down.

"Guys... don't tell anyone. If you want Mizuki to stay at school, don't speak a word." said Sano.

"But.. she shouldn't be at our school. She should be at the co-ed or the all girl school!" said Noe, looking at Sano.

"Can you picture going to school without her?" he asked. Noe just stood there in deep thought.

"Izumi's right. Let's just not tell anyone..." said Nakatsu.

"Come on.. we should probably get back to school... the doctor will be coming back soon anyway," said Sekime, opening the door. The others followed, Nakatsu turning back to look at her. So he wasn't gay... He was happy inside... but wish he didn't have to find out this way.

The door closed and Mizuki opened her eyes. She had been awake ever since she felt the pat on her chest. Her heart was beating fast and her eyes began to tear up. Why did he have to do that? Why... She turned onto her side and cuddled in her covers. How could she put up with this? She'd be kicked out of school now.. she knew it... Her eyes began to weld up with tears. She had to escape... she couldn't face her friends because they knew she was a girl... And Sano... how would she face him? The tears began to stream down her cheeks. She couldn't face any of them. She turned back over to her other side and noticed the sun was setting outside.

Sano walked back into the hospital, finally getting away from Nakatsu. All he was talking about was how he wasn't really gay but was sad because Mizuki was a female. Sano ran his hand through his hair and made his way up to Mizuki's room. A nurse was standing outside the room.

"Can I see Mizuki please?" asked Sano. The nurse shook her head.

"I'd let you... but.. Ashiya Mizuki is missing." said the nurse. "Her window was opened and she is no where to be found." Sano just stood there. She was gone? Why did she leave? Then it hit him... she must have been awake when Nakatsu patted her chest... she knew everyone would find out she's a girl! But they wouldn't... only the four of them knew... He turned away and ran out of the hospital. He had to find her but where could she be?

_The Park? I love the park!!_ That was it! She was at the park. Sano dashed toward the park, hoping that she was there.

The sky was orange and blue, sending a cool breeze over the park. Sano entered the park and began to look around. Where could she be? He followed the path, looking for any sign of Mizuki. He finally saw a figure leaning against a tree that faced the lake. You could see the reflection of the evening sky glistening from the water. He made his way over to the slumped over body. He put a hand on her shoulder and her head shot up. She looked up at him and gasped. Her eyes were red and there were tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Sano..." she said softly, turning away from him, wiping her eyes. He sat next to her.

"Why did you run away?" he asked, looking over at her.

"Why do you think I did? You all know now..." she said. "And... I couldn't face you guys... I didn't want to see the faces of my friends. I lied to them all this time... I lied... Now that I think about it, I feel ashamed... because I lied to my friends. You probably hate me... I don't deserve to have you sitting next to me right now... I just..." she said, choking back a sob. She felt an arm wrap around her, pulling her close to warmth.

"Idiot..." Sano said softly, his hand resting on her head. "You shouldn't be out here in that... You'll catch a cold..." Mizuki's shoulders began to shake.

"Why are you still talking to me? Like nothings changed?" she asked, tears streaming down her face again. She felt her body being turned and felt the warm finger tips of Sano's fingers brushing away her tears.

"Don't cry..." he said.

"I... I'm a girl... You've been living with a girl for the past two years... doesn't... doesn't that surprise you?" she stammered, her eyes not meeting his.

"It would surprise me... If I didn't already know..." he said softly.

"Wha... what?"

"I've known you were a girl... ever since you hurt yourself playing soccer..." Mizuki just stared at him. He knew... this whole time?

"Why didn't you rat me out? Why?" she asked, her full attention on him now.

"Because... I didn't want to. You came all the way here to see me... At first I didn't know how to talk to you... then... the more I got to know you... The more I felt that I needed to keep you next to me. I found that out clearly after the Makita accident. I couldn't let anyone take you... I needed you by my side. You made me feel different... I couldn't imagine you not by my side..." he explained, his face becoming a little red. Mizuki's eyes began to glaze over again.

"I... I never knew you felt this way..." she said softly, sniffing some. "But... I guess I won't be by your side anymore... I'll probably be expelled from school..." she said softly. She felt herself being pulled toward Sano. His arms wrapped around her shivering body.

"Then... if you transfer to a co-ed school... I will too. I can't let you go Mizuki... I... I love you..." he said, resting his head ontop of hers. Mizuki's heart began to beat faster. He... he loved her?

"I love you too..." she whispered, feeling safe within his arms. Sano pulled away from her and looked down into her eyes. His hand cupped her cheek and brought her face to his. Their lips touched gently and Sano's free hand rested on her back. Mizuki leaned into the kiss, her heart beating faster. She was in heaven...

Mizuki laid in her bed, looking up at the ceiling. She was waiting for the doctor to come check up on her. She was scolded badly once she was brought back, but she didn't mind. Sano let out his feelings... and he wasn't upset that she never told him. The door opened and the doctor walked over to her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine sir... but I have a question... Are you going to tell the school I'm a girl?" she asked, stammering a little toward the end.

"I probably will... But now answer me this, why are you in an all guys school?" he asked.

"I came over here to see my idol... Izumi Sano jump... I begged my parents to let me transfer over to the school... I dressed like a boy because I just had to be close to him... to see him jump! Then... I began to get feelings for him.. and I couldn't leave his side... I can't leave his side now though... he knows I'm a girl... and... I love him... I can't be seperated from him... But I beg you... please lie and say I'm a male... please! I must stay by his side..." she pleaded. He looked down at her. Her eyes were full of hope.

"Well..."

Sano was sitting on the ground, his homework in his lap. He looked up once he heard the door open.

"I'm home!" cried Mizuki. She walked farther into the room and noticed a couple boxes. "Whats with the boxes?" she asked.

"I thought... that if you were getting transferred, I'd start to pack my bags so I could go with you." he explained, standing up from the floor. Mizuki smiled and showed him a piece of paper. Sano began to read it and looked up at her.

"Unpack... I'm not going anywhere!" she exclaimed. Sano smiled and pulled Mizuki close to him, holding her tightly.

_I'm never letting you go... never..._


End file.
